Vegan Layered Mexican Bake

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 30 Minutes

I am a sucker for hot and spicy Mexican Food. One recipe I loved for years was put away in the back of my recipe box. The original recipe came from Kraft. I had no idea what I would do to replace hamburger in this recipe. I had tried different Vegan substitutes for hamburger but somehow they did not taste the same.

I went on a crusade searching the Internet to find a good hamburger substitute. I tried many Vegan Hamburger substitutes from the local market and finally compiled all the results. I tested each one in this recipe until I was satisfied with the taste. Here is how I have turned an old time favorite Kraft recipe into a vegan dish. I have omitted some of the original ingredients in the Kraft recipes and replaced them with another. This was more to my liking and taste buds.

Ingredients:

¾ Pound Vegan Ground Beef *

1 Onion Chopped

3 Cloves Garlic Minced

½ Teaspoon Pepper

1 Teaspoon Salt

2 Fresh Red Chilies Seeds removed and diced

1 ¼ Cups Salsa *

1 10 Oz Package Frozen Corn

3 8 inch High Fiber Whole Wheat Tortillas

½ Cup Vegan Sour Cream

¾ Cup Vegan Sharp Cheddar Cheese Shredded and Divided

10 Green Onions Diced

1 Sprig Cilantro Chopped

Prepare:

If using vegan hamburger purchased from the store brown in skillet. If using alternative vegan hamburger add this to the skillet. Brown vegan hamburger with onions, garlic, and chili peppers.

Season the meat with salt and pepper to taste.

Add corn and salsa to mixture and mix well simmering for 5 minutes

In a 9 inch square glass baking dish spread 1 cup of the vegan meat mixture in the bottom of the baking dish. Top with one tortilla.

Add ½ cup vegan meat mixture on top of the tortilla. Add the vegan sour cream on top of the meat mixture and top off with ¼ cup of vegan cheese.

Cover with 1 tortilla. Add 1 cup of vegan meat mixture on top of the tortilla. Add ¼ cup of vegan cheese on top of the vegan meat mixture

Cover with last tortilla. Add the remaining vegan meat mixture on top of the tortilla and cover with aluminum foil.

Bake:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Place the Vegan Mexican Layered Bake in oven and cook for 25 minutes or until heated through. Remove from the oven. Add the remaining vegan cheese on top. Place back in the oven uncovered and cook 5 minutes or until the vegan cheese is melted.

Serve:

Top with green onions and cilantro. Serve hot cutting into squares.

Vegan Hamburger Substitutes:

I have found a very nice hamburger substitute on: http://vegweb.com/recipes/basic-vegan-ground-beef . This recipe uses TVP (Textured vegetable protein) and is very good. I enjoy this one very much in this dish. I would like to suggest that you use this recipe when making this dish. It is very good and has come the closest so far to hamburger substitute for vegans.

There are several recipes on the Internet that use TVP to make vegan hamburger. This recipe: http://thelazyvegetarian.blogspot.com/2005/06/fake-ground-meat.html uses soy sauce and Kombu to flavor the vegan hamburger. I find this very overpowering in this Mexican dish. Other dishes that call for hamburger this one is very good. I would not recommend using this recipe for your vegan hamburger.

There are so many ideas out today on making vegan hamburger. I am sure each one of you has your favorite recipe that you use. I have tried over 25 different recipes from the Internet for Vegan Hamburger. I have just given you three of my favorite recipes for making vegan hamburger and explained which one I prefer in the Vegan Mexican Bake dish.

Salsa:

I am not one to buy salsa in a bottle. I grow all my own chilies at home and have tomatoes growing in my yard. I use the old standard salsa recipe that is so simple to follow. I have been making this for years. I saw my Grandmother prepare this so many times when growing up. I am sure salsa recipes are basically all the same.

I use fresh tomatoes, onions, minced garlic, 2 red chilies diced with seeds, a dash of vinegar, 1 lime squeezed, salt, pepper to taste, and fresh cilantro. All the ingredients can be chopped and added to a bowl to make a chunky salsa. If you are making the Mexican Bake I normally add the ingredients in a blender and mix well. For other dishes that require salsa a food processor works well to dice and chop up the ingredients

Naya this looks fabulous and I am excited to try this. I remember this recipe so many years back and have not used it in such a long time. Thank you for sharing this and bring back old memories of a recipe I used for my family and they loved it so much.

I remember a recipe from Kraft several years back that I tried. I do not believe it was like the one you have posted here. This one looks very good and I think I will try to make this. I like the idea of using all fresh salsa and spices in this recipe.

It sounds wonderful! I am glad to see you back on this site. Thank you also for your vote and comment on my soup recipe - I can't reply, for some reason, there seems to be some kind of technical glitch. I have noticed this with other blogs too.

Thank you so much Veganara. I had a problem here yesterday. I tried to reply to the comments and it told me I had to log in. I had already logged into my account. I had to do it again in order to replay. I have seen this problem for several days now. Hope you can get this one fixed. Try logging in again to your account then you can reply to your comments. Hope this help you.

Ms Naya dear this looks wonderful. My grandchildren enjoy Mexican food and I will try this recipe for my family. Normally we try to have one family dinner each week. This week I will prepare your Layered Mexican Bake. Thank you for sharing your recipes here with others.

Ms Naya dear. I showed my daughter your recipe. We are currently away from home for her husband's job. But when we return this weekend this will be our Sunday family dinner. The Grandchildren are excited to try this and so is my daughter. She said it should delicious and knows it will be a big success with the children. I hope that you will post more on this site. I have found your other recipes and they all look so good. I am not sure which one I want to try first.

This recipe looks delicious. I have been looking for alternative ways to prepare foods at home for my daughter. I have found out she is allergic to dairy. I have researched and found that all vegan products contain no actual dairy in them. So the vegan cheese and sour creams are perfect for her to eat. I have a rather large list of acceptable foods that she can eat which will not make her sick. I think my entire family would love this and I am so happy to have found this site today. I ran across this site in some of my searching and looking for recipes for her. I hope that you will share more recipes so that I may try them for my family.